Danica McKellar arrives on the iHeartRadio Music Awards on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, on the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. McKellar turned a breakout star for her portrayal of the beloved Winnie Cooper in “The Surprise Years.” However when the hit present got here to an finish in 1993, the teenaged McKellar quickly stepped out of the highlight to pursue a wildly totally different path. Jordan Strauss, Invision, Related Press
Danica McKellar turned a breakout star for her portrayal of the beloved Winnie Cooper in “The Surprise Years.” However when the hit present got here to an finish in 1993, the teenaged McKellar quickly stepped out of the highlight to pursue a wildly totally different path.
Danica McKellar on leaving performing after ‘The Surprise Years’
McKellar just lately opened up about why she left performing after discovering huge success in “The Surprise Years.”
“I went to UCLA, however after I obtained to highschool, all over the place I went, folks throughout campus would shout throughout campus, you recognize, ‘Hey Winnie!’ I couldn’t get away from it,” the actress informed her 11-year-old son, Draco, in a chat for Leisure Tonight. “I wanted to learn the way I used to be worthwhile exterior of Winnie Cooper.”
So McKellar finally determined to pursue her love of math. She graduated summa cum laude with a level in arithmetic in 1998, and has gone on to publish 11 youngsters’s books about math, per Folks.
“After ‘The Surprise Years’ ended, right here I used to be, this ex-child actress,” McKellar beforehand informed Folks. “It's a must to discover your identification someplace. For me, I discovered it in feeling sensible and good about myself.”
McKellar — who immediately seems in quite a lot of movies for the Hallmark Channel — additionally recalled the battle of balancing schoolwork and performing, telling her son: “I’m not gonna ever push you in that path, as a result of it’s a troublesome life,” per Leisure Tonight.
But when her son — who’s solely seen one episode of “The Surprise Years” — did wish to pursue an performing profession like his mother, McKellar stated she can be supportive, placing him in performing courses and serving to him via it.
“I'll assist you no matter you wanna do,” she stated, in line with Leisure Tonight.